We were lucky to spot 926F of the Lamar Pack this morning next to the road. Difficult shooting conditions at 5:35am but a rewarding image of her gnawing on an elk leg. Next entry in diary

Bison mate in late July through September. The males live alone until mating season and come together with the females with the dominate males selecting a group of females to mate with and to defend. The younger males start sparing to establish dominance early. Next entry in diary

Spotted 3 Black wolves from the Junction pack heading east, toward the bison carcass, coming off the Jasper bench. They seemed to be in a playful mood. Next entry in diary

Another resident of the Lamar Valley are the Pronghorn Antelope. They look like something imported from the African continent but they are natives to North America. Their striking colors make them very easy to spot but their speed is too much for the wolves most of the time. Next entry in diary

Although wolves have always been native to the Yellowstone area they have been the subject of extermination attempts by misguided humans in the past. Various diseases that can kill canids were released into the Yellowstone area eco-system that decades later still affect entire litters of pups. From 1995 to 1997, 41 wild wolves from Canada and northwest Montana were released in Yellowstone National Park. The Lamar Valley was the original location for the release of Grey Wolves to the Yellowstone National Park to repopulate wolves that originally were native to Yellowstone.  In general, wolf...

We celebrated the fourth of July by visiting one of the countries most valuable assets, Yellowstone National Park. An act of Congress signed into law by President Ulysses Grant established the park in 1872. Members of Congress were inspired by the works of artist Thomas Moran and photographer William Henry Jackson who joined a 40-day geological survey in 1871 to document the Yellowstone area. The Lamar Valley, in the northeast part of the park, has been compared to the Serengeti. That might be a bit of hyperbole but it is the only place in America where you can see thousands of grazing herd...

To get to know the area we drove up the Beartooth Highway 212 to 11,000ft to Beartooth Pass. It is a breath-taking drive and we saw Mountain Goats at the top of the pass. On the way to Beartooth Pass we passed through a beautiful valley featuring the stunning Pilot Peak. Next entry in diary

On day two we checked out Cooke City, Montana, two miles west of the campground. It's a village of 100 year-round residents exploding to 300 in the summer. I expected a typical western town with a gas station, grocery, and a couple of bars. I was wrong and pleasantly surprised. We first discovered the Montasia Asian restaurant. Chef Lee Johnson has been making good things to eat since 1994. He met his wife Yokie at MSU in Bozeman, where she was studying chemical engineering, and they now focus their talent on the Montasia restaurant  in Cooke City. It is a family affair with mama Madeline...

We arrived Sunday to open the U.S. Forest Service Colter campground located in southeast Montana. We have traded a place to live for keeping track of the campers and doing bear safety education this summer. Colter is a beautiful campground with 18 sites with great views from its 8000ft location next to the Absaroka-Beartooth wilderness. The northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park is six miles away. This resident mule deer loves Dandelion greens. The view from campground site 10. Sunset from Site 10 in Colter Campground Next Entry in Diary